Proceedings of the 2009 northeastern recreation research symposium

Table 2.—Socio-demographic characteristics of Off-Highway Vehicle owners by experience use history group
Experience Use History Group
Casual Casual Frequent Occasional Entire
veterans newcomers
sample
Mean Age 50.0 49.2 41.7 44.9 48.6
% Completing 4 year college degree 25.1 31.5 25.0 29.9 28.3
Income (Modal Category) $75,000 - $50,000 - $75,000 - $50,000 -
$99,999 $74,999 $99,999 $74,999
% Married 87.7 86.9 76.2 83.6 86.0
Table 3.—Differences in importance for management actions across and between experience use history groups
Management Action Comparison
across all
groups
Casual
Veterans
activity more often than both of the casual groups, yet far
less often than the frequent riders.
Th e socio-demographic characteristics of the four groups
are in Table 2. Th e entire sample of OHV owners was
predominantly white (98.4 percent), married (86.0
percent), and self-identifi ed as politically conservative
(59.5 percent). Th e frequency distributions of respondents’
ages across EUH groups were signifi cantly diff erent
from expectations (� 2 = 39.70, df = 15, p = 0.001). Th e
obvious deviation came from the fact that frequent riders
tended to be younger compared to those in other groups.
However, we found no signifi cant relationships between
EUH group membership and income (� 2 = 17.82, df =
18, p = 0.468) or group membership and education (� 2 =
14.82, df = 15, p = 0.464).
4.2 EUH and the Importance of
and Satisfaction with Specifi c
Management Actions
Using simple one-way ANOVAs, we found that EUH
is related to two of the fi ve importance questions (p ≤
0.05). Th e comparisons across all groups, as well as the
between-group diff erences, are reported in Table 3. OHV
owners with diff erent patterns of prior experience also
Experience Use History Groups
Casual
Newcomers
gave signifi cantly diff erent rankings to the importance of
providing adequate trailhead facilities. Between-group
comparisons reveal that casual veterans (riders who had
been riding for a relatively long time but on average take
fewer than six trips per year) diff ered signifi cantly from
occasional riders. Given the two groups’ similar length of
activity involvement, this fi nding suggests that increased
frequency of participation in the activity is related to a
decreased need for developed trailhead facilities. OHV
riders with diff erent patterns of prior experience also
exhibited signifi cant diff erences in the importance placed
on the provision of signage. Post-hoc tests revealed that
casual newcomers diff ered signifi cantly from every other
EUH group. Th is fi nding suggests that both increased
frequency of participation and increased length of
involvement in the activity are related to a decreased need
for trail or area signage.
Next, we followed the same analytical procedure to test
for signifi cant diff erences across the four EUH groups
with regard to satisfaction with the provision of each of
the fi ve management actions. Th e results of our analysis
revealed no signifi cant diff erences in satisfaction with
management based on patterns of prior experience.
Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium GTR-NRS-P-66
Frequent Occasional All groups
Provision of Information F3, 530 = 0.02 4.01 4.02 4.00 4.03 4.02
Provision of Trailhead Facilities F3, 531 = 2.50* 3.83a 3.78 3.62 3.52a 3.73
Provision of Site Maintenance F3, 531 = 0.23 4.01 4.01 3.86 3.96 3.99
Provision of Signage F3, 531 = 3.12* 4.05a 4.24abc 3.81b 3.96c 4.08
Provision of Law Enforcement F3, 532 = 1.31 3.69 3.74 3.90 3.53 3.68
Note. Groups with signifi cant differences are noted with similar superscripts.
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